唐 táng Tang
the Tang dynasty; Chinese
How it came to be
A mouth under a shape the oldest forms draw as a pestle in a hand. The word meant big talk: boasting, and so exaggerated and empty, long before it named a dynasty.
用法
- The Tang dynasty - a byword for Chinese heritage - 唐朝 (Tángcháo) the Tang, 唐人街 (Tángrénjiē) Chinatown, 唐装 (Tángzhuāng) traditional Chinese jacket.
- Separately, 'exaggerated/absurd' in 荒唐 (huāngtáng): 荒唐的想法 (huāngtáng de xiǎngfa) a preposterous idea.
- So it swings from proud dynastic reference to 'absurd/preposterous'.